Books of the Week - October 8th

Thanks for checking out our newest feature...Books of the Week! There are nine of us and we can't keep up with the many review requests we receive, even though we'd love to read everything sent our way. Therefore, we have decided to give some books their time in the spotlight and introduce you to them through this new blog feature. We will be featuring two books a week. We hope you will take the time to check these books out. (Click the titles to find them on Amazon.) If you read them and want to write a guest blogger review for us, please e-mail us and we'll be glad to work with you!

Authors: We will let you know whether or not we'll be able to review your book upon your request, and hope you'll be interested in this feature as an alternative.

"Go Lucy (Do-Yourself-In Generation Story)"
By Patricia Herlevi

Olympia, Washington—1992, Japanese exchange student Lucy Yakamoto discovers riot girls, do-it-yourself pop music and sexual liberation.  Her traditional parents expect her to return to Tokyo, marry a nice man and join her father’s consulting firm, but the college graduate has other plans.  She finds herself falling for Belinda Chance, a notorious lesbian and leader of the riot girl scene in Olympia.

Lucy fears dishonoring her family so she pursues the legendary Latino Carlos Suave. After engaging in phone booth sex she moves in with him.  But the lure of alternative pop and too many encounters with Belinda cause her life to spin out of control.  Meanwhile, Lucy’s best pal, Natalie Dante secretly pursues Carlos, bands break up and fortunes change, leaving Lucy with a choice of marrying her Latino lover or pursuing a playful love affair with a riot girl.  And it’s entirely possible that she will choose true liberation in the form of a blue Telecaster guitar and Japanese pop.

"Go, Lucy" was inspired by 1990s alternative pop, Truman Capote’s “ Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and the movie, The Graduate.

Patricia Herlevi is also is the author of  "Agnes et Yves,” a story about a woman's plans to pursue a Spanish Don Juan becoming derailed by a transportation strike and a French painter.

Patricia Herlevi can be found on Twitter. "Go Lucy" is also available for Kindle.

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 "Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction"

By Amy Metz

When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle.

A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready.

Amy Metz can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Book Review and Giveaway: Wellesley Wives

By Jami Deise

**Giveaway is now closed**

Along with my bookworm tendencies, I am a huge TV addict. And from the 1980s onward, I was and am entertained by TV families with the last names of Carrington, Ewing, Quartermaine, Chandler, Grayson, Cortlandt, Buchanan, Cory and Darling. The rich really aren’t like you and me. And if you were a fan of Dallas, Dynasty, General Hospital, or All My Children, you learned that on a weekly basis. How many people fight their siblings for an oil company or their grandfather’s trust fund? How many cosseted young girls get married on the grounds of a huge estate, arriving in a horse drawn carriage? If you enjoyed these shows and those families as much as I did, then Suzy Duffy’s novel “Wellesley Wives” is the book for you.
Popsy Power is celebrating her 50th birthday in style with a gift from her husband Peter – a bright red Ferrari worth $250,000. Popsy really seems to have it all: A rich husband, two successful grown daughters – Rosie and Lily – an adorable granddaughter Natasha, and a loyal best friend, Sandra. Sandra is married to Peter’s business partner, Jack, who is close enough to the family that her girls call him “Uncle Jack.” Her life is filled with shopping, lunches, visiting Natasha, and other amusements. On the day of Popsy’s birthday party, it all comes crashing down. Jack and Peter’s company goes bankrupt, and both families could lose everything. Then there’s an innocent slip by Natasha, and suddenly it’s revealed that Jack and Lily have been having an affair. The news is too much for Peter, who collapses in a heart attack.

“Wellesley Wives” was not the book I expected. Most books about rich people are written from an outsider’s point of view, and the wealthy characters aren’t presented in the best light. When this book opens, with Popsy getting her new Ferrari, I fully expected to hate her and thought the author would be satirizing her and her lifestyle. In fact, Popsy is a warm, nurturing character who loves her family and friends, and her wealth is only a small part of who she is.

The book is written from the point of view of each of the female main characters: Popsy, Rosie, Lily and Sandra all narrate alternating chapters. Each of these women are caught in soap operas of their own: Rosie’s husband is pressuring her to take a swinger’s vacation; Lily is having an affair with her father’s best friend; Sandra wants desperately to have a baby with her increasingly distant husband. While all four women are three dimensional and fully relatable, Sandra is the character who really pops. As Jack’s second wife, she’s spoiled but strong enough that she can help Popsy through her crisis even though Popsy’s daughter is her husband’s mistress. She refuses to let Popsy wallow in their emotional and financial crises, taking her on a vacation to Ireland and forcing her best friend to rejoin the world.

On the other hand, the men in the book aren’t nearly as fully formed. Peter seems loving and generous, but has taken enormous risks with his family’s well-being. Rosie’s husband, Marcus, comes across as a pig, and Jack is exactly what one would expect of a man who cheats on his wife with his best friend’s daughter. The scenes between Jack and Lily I found particularly trying, as I could not understand what Lily could possibly see in the man.

“Wellesley Wives” is good, juicy soap opera fun. My only quibble is that the book blurb refers to it as “romantic comedy.” While there are a few funny scenes and lines, this book is not a comedy. It’s a soap opera. And any reader picking it up expecting Bridget Jones in the Hamptons is going to be disappointed. On the other hand, author Suzy Duffy hails from Ireland, and perhaps the Irish have a different sense of humor than Americans.

Thanks to The Writer's Coffee Shop for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. They're partnered with Smith Publicity, who has TWO paperbacks for some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

How to win "Wellesley Wives": 
Please tell us your favorite daytime or nighttime soap opera. (One entry per person.) Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win. Entries without contact information will NOT be counted.

Giveaway ends October 14th at midnight EST.

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Book Review: Boy Meets Girl

By Tracey Meyers

I'm an e-mail and text message pack-rat.  I have e-mails and text messages dating back from what seems like the beginning of time.  Most of the time I do nothing with them and just let them take up room in cyberspace; however, from time-to-time I re-read these old exchanges and they takes me on a journey to the past; allowing me to relive old "stories" e-mail by e-mail, text-by-text. 

In the book, "Boy Meets Girl," Meg Cabot uses e-mail, office memos, chat conversations and transcripts from other means of communication to chronicle the adventures of Kate Mackenzie.  At the moment in time readers enter Kate's life, she finds her having many personal and professional struggles.  Her demanding boss instructed her to fire her company's most popular employee and she ends up getting sued as a result.  Her boyfriend of ten years won't commit so she moves out.  Even finding an affordable apartment seems next to impossible.

First off, I have to say that I could relate to a few of the story lines going on in this book, which is the reason a friend of mine recommended the book to me.  However, another thing I could relate to was the idea of telling a story via various communication - e-mail, chat log, memos, etc. - rather than traditional means.  (As I mentioned above, I have relived many events in my life through the archives of these various types of communications.)  Though I have seen this writing technique used in other books as part of the story, this was the first time I had seen it used as the sole format of a story.  At first I wasn't sure how much I would like this style of writing, and how it would translate in terms of a 400-page book.  I worried after awhile that it would get old and boring.  Additionally, I wondered if it would make it difficult to follow along.  However, early on in the book my concerns were put to rest.  As it turns out, I think it adds a new dimension to fiction writing, and was a smart and interesting way of telling a story.

I also really liked the characters in this book.  If you haven't encountered people like these characters in your own life, you've at least heard about these people from your friends.  You've go the boss from hell (a.k.a - T. O. D. which is short for Tyrannical Office Despot, also known as Amy Jenkins, Director of the Human Resources Division at the New York Journal.).  The best friend who will even risk her marriage just to make sure her bestie has a place to sleep.  The handsome, successful attorney who makes you weak in knees at first glance.  The stalker ex-boyfriend who just won't go away.  (Just to name a few.)

Along with mix of others, these characters create a timeless tale that is sure to entertain.

More by Meg Cabot:

Book Review: Much Ado About Magic

By Gail Allison

Katie Chandler is back. She’s back in New York, back working for MSI (Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc.), and back together with Owen Palmer, one of the most powerful wizards of his time. As a magical immune, Katie is completely unaffected by all the magic around her. Where most people would just see commuters and clouds, Katie sees fairies fluttering around Central Park and gargoyles patrolling the skies of the Big Apple. Her immunity makes her an invaluable resource at MSI, where spells and enchantments are the order of the day. When things start to go awry, though, she may be right in danger’s path as one of the only people who can see through all the illusions to the heart of the deception. And with one of the most knowledgeable wizards at MSI as her boyfriend, she may find herself in the middle of a magical war before she can say “abracadabra”.

I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was to hear that there would be additional books in Shanna Swendson’s “Enchanted Inc.” series. I had read the first four books at least twice over, and enjoyed them thoroughly, so to hear there would be additional installments? Thrilling!! These books are just so well written, and such a pleasure to read that once I pick one up, I can’t put it down. Ms Swendson has created some very well-rounded characters that keep jumping off the page more and more in every new book. For example: we finally got to learn about Owen’s parentage in "Much Ado About Magic."  His adoption had been mentioned in passing in the previous novels, but many pre-existing questions were answered in "Much Ado..."  The best part of the novel: the fact that the end was a cliff-hanger, so there (hopefully) will be more to come!!

Ever since I found this series a few years ago, I’ve been a die-hard fan. Ms Swendson’s language and characters are so believable they really make you want to start looking around for fairies hiding in plain sight or for wizards sitting next to you on the subway. They’re an easy read, and hit just the right tone for the end of the day when my brain is starting to turn off. Or when I’m sitting outside in the sun. Or when I’m tucked up inside because it’s snowing out. Really, they’re fantastic books to pick up any time. It’s absolutely a series that I recommend to most people, just because it is so enjoyable for such a diverse crowd.

If you have yet to join the e-reader generation, you can still get a head start on this series by picking up the first book, "Enchanted Inc," which is available in paperback on amazon.com. At the moment, "Much Ado About Magic" is only available in digital copy, but the first four books in the series are all available in hardcopy. Each one of these books has a permanent place on my bookshelf as re-reads. These books are definitely recommended if you need a little more magic in your life. And really, who doesn’t?!?

More by Shanna Swendson:

Danielle Turchiano is part of our modern family and has a book to share!

Introduction by Melissa Amster

**Giveaway is now closed**

Amy and I are fans of the hit show Modern Family. So when she sent me a contest link to win a book about the show, I immediately entered. Little did I know, I would end up WINNING that contest! And when I did, I was contacted by the lovely Danielle Turchiano, who just happened to advertise her TV themed memoir, "My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture" (reviewed here). Little did she know, I had planned October to be TV month at Chick Lit Central. I knew I had to ask her to make an appearance. It was like a match made in heaven....or book besherte! And now here Danielle is to talk about her subject of expertise!

You can find Danielle on Facebook, Twitter and her website.

Danielle has graciously agreed to give away TWO Kindle copies of "My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture" to some lucky readers anywhere in the world!

Favorite TV show of all time: 

Friends-- because it never fails to make me smile, no matter how many times I've seen the episodes and regardless of the fact that I can quote episodes verbatim.

TV  show you didn't watch as a kid but would have watched now: 

There aren't really many kid shows that hold up for adults, in my opinion, but there is one show that my parents never allowed me to watch that I think, smartly, has different levels. There are some more adult jokes that will sail over the kids' heads, which I guess were the jokes my parents were afraid of-- because if they deemed them inappropriate on the off chance they didn't sail over my head at age eight or ten. But anyway, I digress. That show is The Simpsons. It's something I do occasionally catch these days, and I actually find I enjoy the older episodes more. Maybe I'm just trying to capture on which something I missed out!

Show you felt was cancelled WAY too soon:  

Life Unexpected-- there was just something so real and powerful about these characters, and like Parenthood, the show ran the gauntlet of emotions every week.

Show that is most like your life: 

Is it crazy to say The L.A. Complex? Being in L.A.-- and being in this business-- I certainly know all of those characters and the grind that they've struggled with, the challenge it can be to make yourself seen but more importantly taken seriously, the chase of the dream, and the blind hope that there is something big out there for you...

Guilty pleasure show:  

I'm a sucker for The Challenge on MTV. I'm in awe of the physical tasks they ask these regular (as in, non-professional athletes) to take on, and the ridiculousness in the house is just too fun.

Funniest episode of your favorite comedy series: 

I'm not sure I could pick a funniest episode because when I look back on things that make me laugh the hardest, it's always just shorter form moments.

TV Show you'd like to see do a musical episode:  

Supernatural-- very shows can get away with crossing genres, but they have proven they know how to do lighter, more whimsical, and even meta episodes on multiple occasions. With "Changing Channels" they already tackled a number of television genre tropes (from traditional sitcom to medical melodramas and crime procedurals) all within one episode. A musical might just be the most out there thing they ever try, but hey, Buffy did it!

Show that deserves to be a Scene It game theme:  

Friday Night Lights! 

Special thanks to Danielle for putting the "pop" in pop culture and sharing her book with our readers!

How to win "My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture":

Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)  

Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: Which TV show has had the most impact on your life?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.

Giveaway ends October 10th at midnight EST.

Book Review: My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture

By Melissa Amster

If you don't know this already, I will fill you in on a little secret...I am known amongst my friends as the Pop Culture Queen. One of them went as far as calling me the Melissa Movie Database. If that alone doesn't tell you why "My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture," by Danielle Turchiano, was PERFECT for me to read, then you don't really know me at all....



At the age of twenty-five, @DanielleTBD is a romantic, a dreamer, a skeptic, a cynic, and still holding out the hope that she will someday find a real life Zack Morris... Despite growing up in a household that only featured the seven-channel options of rabbit ears' television, DanielleTBD still managed to spend the better part of the 1990s learning her life lessons by watching fictional characters experience them. Using Zack & Kelly, Jesse & Rebecca, and Monica & Chandler as her guides for what strong, successful couples were supposed to look like, she set out, perhaps a bit misguided, to find a suitor of her own that would fit nicely into the mold countless sitcoms carved out for her. But something went horribly awry, and she was forced to come to terms with the fact that all she looked to when she was a child to tell her what real life could be was, in fact, only relevant for a reel life. "My Life, Made Possible" is a true tale, though it may be a cautionary one. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.com)

While reading this book, I told one of my girlfriends that I had found my literary soul sister. Danielle is quite a bit younger than me, but it was like she was speaking my language. The girlfriend I had been talking about this with knows how often I compare people (including myself) to characters on TV shows. And it's not just people, but also situations. And Danielle references all my favorites from Full House to Saved by the Bell to Friends! I love how she comes up with nicknames for the guys she mentions, as I love coming up with nicknames for people. She would have loved "X-Files Guy," named because he did a parody of The X-Files for a class project in college and played Mulder. I think I crushed on him for that reason ahead of the fact that he was actually cute. And she would have loved my e-mails with another girlfriend, where we compare our relationships to those on TV shows, which all started with an episode of Glee from sometime in the past year. (I then went on to tell this friend how I compare my marriage to that of Lily and Marshall's on How I Met Your Mother.)

Another thing that won me over was that she devotes part of a chapter to Rent (the stage musical, not the movie). Be still, my beating heart! If Danielle and I had been living in the same area (and been close in age so that we would have actually had the realistic opportunity to meet), I would have totally been waiting outside for front-row Rent tickets with her. And we would have been quizzing each other on Saved by the Bell and Friends trivia. (Side note: My husband and I once spent a date quizzing each other about SBTB and another girlfriend and I would e-mail Friends questions back and forth.)

While "My Life, Made Possible by Pop Culture" is short and sweet (and made me e-mail Danielle after each chapter to tell her what I could relate about), I wish it had been more about different aspects of pop culture. While I love talking and reading about TV, it would have been nice to hear about her perspective on movies and music, as well. That, and I wish it had gone more in order instead of jumping back and forth in time. It's a fun read overall and TV junkies like myself (who aren't even as addicted as some other people I know and will not name) will definitely appreciate Danielle's experiences and nostalgic references.

Thanks to Danielle for the e-book in exchange for an honest review. She is giving away some e-books (worldwide) along with her interview!

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Winners of "Blackberry Winter"

To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (from only the entries with contact info) and asked random.org to choose THREE numbers.

Congrats to:
16-susieqlaw
65-Bridget O'Neill
153-Tobi Helton

Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.

Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us which fictional school you'd attend. Hogwarts was probably the most popular choice, followed by West Beverly High. Such a diverse crowd. (We did enjoy seeing Bayside on some comments too.)
Thanks to Sarah Jio for talking about her school memories and Penguin for sharing "Blackberry Winter" with our winners!

Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.